Vikings, Cowboys Set To Renew Long-Standing Rivalry

COWBOYS-VIKINGS HAVE HISTORY:The Vikings and Cowboys have carved their places in NFL lore by fielding some of the most dominant teams of the past decades. From 1969-78 the Vikings or Cowboys represented the NFC in the Super Bowl 9 times in that 10-season span. The Vikings played in Super Bowls IV, VIII, IX and XI while Dallas was in Super Bowls V, VI, X, XII and XIII. The history of the Vikings and Cowboys in the preseason also has a significant place in team history. The 1st-ever Vikings team to take the field did so on 8/5/61 in the preseason opener for the franchise against the Cowboys in a game played in Sioux Falls, SD before a crowd of 4,954. The clubs went on to meet 20 times in the regular season and have played 6 times in the playoffs. The Vikings and Cowboys played to a 13-13 overtime tie in the 2006 preseason finale in Texas Stadium, marking only the 3rd preseason tie game in Vikings history.

PLAYOFF PROWESS: The Vikings have played the Cowboys and Rams the most in playoff history- facing both clubs 7 times. The last meeting was the 2009 NFC Divisional Round game at Mall of America Field when the Vikings rolled to a 34-3 victory. The Vikings advanced to Super Bowl VIII with a 27-10 win at Dallas in the NFC Championship game on 12/30/73 and returned to the Lone Star State for the big game 2 weeks later against Miami in Houston. The Vikings missed out on a berth in Super Bowl XII when Dallas won the NFC Championship on their home field over the Vikings on New Year’s Day 1978. The final playoff game of Hall of Fame QB Troy Aikman’s career came in the 1999 Wild Card Playoffs at the Dome on 1/9/00, a 27-10 Vikings win.

JERRY’S HOUSE: The Vikings will make the 1st trip to AT&T Stadium in franchise history this weekend. The series between the teams has favored the Vikings in recent meetings with the Purple holding a 7-1 mark in the past 8 games, including playoff wins in 1999 and 2009. The Vikings make the 1st trip to Dallas since 2007. The state-of-the-art new home of the Cowboys opened in 2009 and can seat up to 100,000 fans. For Vikings WR Greg Jennings, the visit will stir memories of the Super Bowl XLV victory he helped the Packers engineer over Pittsburgh on 2/6/11 with a 2-TD day.

HOME SWEET HOME:There are 7 Vikings players who played their high school football in Texas and return to their home state this weekend- Christian Ponder (Colleyville), Adrian Peterson (Palestine), Andrew Sendejo (San Antonio), Cullen Loeffler (Ingram), J’Marcus Webb (Fort Worth), Charlie Johnson (Sherman) and Brian Robison (Slendora). Ponder’s father, David, was a defensive lineman for the Cowboys in the mid-80s. Dallas QBs coach Wade Wilson was drafted by the Vikings in 1981 and played in Minnesota through the 1991 season. Along with Ponder’s father playing for America’s Team, former Vikings LB, coach and current radio analyst Pete Bercich’s father, Bob, was a DB for the Cowboys in the early 1960s. The elder Bercich picked off Vikings QB Fran Tarkenton in a 1961 game. Vikings S Andrew Sendejo got his 1st break in the NFL with Dallas in 2010 after he had been playing with the UFL’s Sacramento franchise. Sendejo saw action in 2 games with Dallas in 2010 before coming to the Vikings in 2011.

SUPER BOWL SHUFFLES: The Vikings or Cowboys were a fixture for the NFC in Super Bowls during the 1970s.